This guide is the checklist behind a Montenegrin bid: each document and step in the order a tender needs it, and who may lawfully handle it. For how procurement in Montenegro works as a whole (thresholds, procedures, who may bid, evaluation, appeals), see How to bid for public tenders in Montenegro.
Before you bid
1. Your company’s CEJN account (cejn.gov.me). Bids are filed only electronically on CEJN, which the law calls ESJN. You enter your registration data and send the registration form to the Ministry of Finance’s Directorate for Public Procurement Policy, naming your first administrator and your authorised person by name, surname and personal number. The main system administrator then activates your company; no time for approval is published. The account stays in place once active.
- Who does it: the data can be prepared for you; your company signs and sends the form and names its administrator and authorised person.
- What goes in: your registration number and PIB from the Central Register of Business Entities are part of the registration.
- From abroad: foreign authorised persons are identified by passport number.
2. Your authorised person (ovlašćeno lice). Every bid needs one: your executive director, or a person the director or the management body authorises in writing to act in the procurement procedure. Conflict-of-interest rules apply to whoever holds the role. The authorisation can be ready the same day and is valid for what it states.
- Who does it: a lawyer can draft the authorisation; your executive director signs it.
- From abroad: the authorisation is translated.
3. A qualified electronic signature, only where the buyer asks. CEJN works with a username and password. A buyer may set a level of e-identification, and if it requires a qualified e-signature it must accept qualified signatures under the e-identification law, from providers in Montenegro or recognised foreign ones. The signature belongs to your authorised person and never leaves them.
With your bid
4. The izjava privrednog subjekta (economic operator statement). An electronic statement on the Ministry’s form in which you guarantee that you meet all the conditions and have no exclusion grounds, for the whole procedure and the whole contract. It is free. Each joint-bid member and subcontractor gives its own.
- Who does it: completed for you on CEJN and submitted under your company’s account by the authorised person. You confirm the data is complete, clear and true.
5. Joint bids and subcontractors. Every member of a joint bid, and every subcontractor, gives an operator statement, and you declare each subcontractor’s name, seat, tax ID, account and authorised person. A lawyer can draft the joint-bid agreement; each member confirms its own statement.
6. Language and translations. Procedures run in Montenegrin or another official language. Tender documents may also be in a language of international trade, and technical parts may be allowed in one. A court interpreter (sudski tumač) translates foreign evidence.
7. The bid guarantee (garancija ponude), from EUR 40,000. A bank guarantee of 2% of the estimated value, covering the bid validity. If the bank signs it with its certified e-signature, it is filed electronically on CEJN; otherwise you upload a copy and the paper original must reach the buyer in a marked envelope before the deadline. You arrange it and pay the bank’s fees.
8. Submitting on CEJN. The bid is completed on CEJN’s forms, with its documents attached, and receipt is confirmed by e-mail. No one can see it before opening. Changing a bid after submitting it withdraws it, so it has to be submitted again.
- Who does it: a user on your account can prepare everything and submit, if your company has designated them as authorised person; otherwise your authorised person submits.
If you’re the best bidder
After evaluation, the commission checks the best bidder’s statement against public sources. Where it can’t, you get 8 days to upload originals or copies through CEJN, and 5 more if something is unclear. Without them you are excluded, unless the document isn’t issued in your country.
| Document | Issued by | Who handles it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proof of registration, with the details of your authorised person or executive director | Centralni registar privrednih subjekata (CRPS), at the Tax Administration | The extract is obtained and prepared for you | — |
| Criminal-record certificates for the company and the authorised person, Art. 99(1)(1) | Ministry of Justice | The company and the person request their own | Request them in person |
| Certificate of paid taxes and contributions | Poreska uprava (Revenue and Customs Administration) | An accountant keeps obligations settled | Request it under your own access |
| Licence for the activity, such as the contractor licence for works | The competent authority; for construction, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property | The application is prepared, with an engineer; no fee for the construction licence, about 8 days | Apply for the licence |
| Financial statements for the two previous years with an authorised auditor’s report, where the tender sets financial criteria | You and your auditor | An accountant or auditor provides them | — |
| Client confirmations of contracts from previous years, up to 5, with description, value, timing and a statement of timely, quality performance | Your previous customers | Collected for you in the required content | Ask your customers to issue them |
| Staff and equipment evidence: diplomas, certificates, experience confirmations, proof of engagement (insurance registration, employment or capacity-reliance contracts) and a list of equipment you own or have secured | You and the issuing institutions | Compiled for you | Provide your HR records |
| Quality and environmental certificates, where asked | A body accredited by ATCG, or a foreign accredited body | The body audits you; typically valid 3 years | Undergo the audit |
Before the contract
The performance guarantee, from EUR 40,000. Up to 10% of the contract value, from a bank, for the contract term. You arrange it and pay the bank’s fees.
The contract is signed by your executive director or authorised person after the standstill and any appeal, with the performance guarantee supplied. The buyer then publishes it on CEJN.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| CEJN registration | The data is prepared for you | Sign and send the form; name the administrator and authorised person |
| Authorised person | A lawyer drafts the authorisation | Your executive director signs it |
| Qualified e-signature, where required | A qualified trust service provider | Your authorised person signs with their own |
| Operator statement | Completed for you on CEJN | Confirm the data is accurate |
| Joint-bid agreement and subcontractor data | A lawyer | Each member confirms |
| Translations | A court interpreter | — |
| Bid guarantee | A bank | Contract the guarantee |
| Submission on CEJN | A user designated as your authorised person, or your authorised person | Authorise, or submit |
| Evidence after evaluation | Prepared and uploaded for you | Request the certificates tied to you and your directors |
| Tax certificate | An accountant keeps obligations settled | Request it under your own access |
| Licence for the activity | Application prepared with an engineer | Apply |
| Audited financial statements | An accountant or authorised auditor | — |
| References and staff evidence | Compiled for you | Ask clients for confirmations; provide HR records |
| Performance guarantee and contract | A bank | Contract the guarantee; sign the contract |
| Appeal to the Commission | A lawyer under your power of attorney, also as your local proxy | Grant the power of attorney; pay the fee |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Advokat | Advokatska komora Crne Gore (Bar Association of Montenegro) | Draft and file appeals through CEJN to the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement; act as the local proxy for service that an appellant without a seat in Montenegro must appoint; draft joint-bid agreements and authorisations of the ovlašćeno lice |
| Procurement consultant | — | Gets a user account on your CEJN profile from your administrator, with the roles set there; fills in the CEJN forms, uploads documents and prepares the izjava privrednog subjekta; prepares the evidence for the 8-day (+5) check after evaluation |
| Certified accountant or ovlašćeni revizor (authorised auditor) | Institute of Certified Accountants of Montenegro; auditors are licensed under the audit law | Provide financial statements for the two previous years with the auditor’s report; keep taxes and contributions settled for the tax certificate |
| Sudski tumač (court interpreter) | Ministry of Justice | Translate foreign evidence into Montenegrin |
| Bank | Central Bank of Montenegro | Issue bid guarantees (2% of the estimated value, from EUR 40,000), electronic with the bank’s certified e-signature or as paper originals, and performance guarantees (up to 10%) |
| Certification body | Accreditation Body of Montenegro (ATCG); foreign accredited certificates are recognised under the conformity-assessment law | Issue the quality and environmental certificates buyers may require |
| Licensed engineer | Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property; Inženjerska komora (Chamber of Engineers) | Provide the licensed professionals a contractor licence and works tenders require; foreign engineers need diploma recognition, a professional exam and Chamber membership |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Montenegrin company to bid, but works need a Montenegrin construction licence, and an appellant without a seat in Montenegro names a local proxy; who may bid, and on what terms, is in How to bid for public tenders in Montenegro. For the paperwork:
- CEJN: your authorised persons are identified by passport number.
- Company registration: evidence from your home register, with the details of your authorised person.
- Criminal records: home-country certificates, translated.
- Tax: your home tax certificate.
- Where a document isn’t issued in your country: you aren’t excluded for not providing it.
- Financial statements: your home statements with the auditor’s report, translated.
- References and staff evidence: translated; foreign diplomas may need recognition for licensed roles.
- Quality certificates: foreign accredited certificates are recognised.
- Authorisation of the ovlašćeno lice: translated.
- Paper guarantee: the original must physically reach the buyer before the deadline.
Pitfalls
- Never use another person’s CEJN login. Each user, your administrator included, works under their own credentials.
- Put the authorised person in writing. Anyone acting for you in the procedure needs a written authorisation from the executive director or management body, and conflict-of-interest rules apply to them.
- Send paper guarantees early. A paper original that arrives after the deadline doesn’t count.
- Don’t edit a submitted bid lightly. A change withdraws the bid, and it has to be submitted again before the deadline.
- Have the evidence ready before evaluation ends. You may get only 8 days, plus 5 if the commission finds something unclear.
- Line up a local proxy before you appeal. A foreign appellant must appoint one.
Doing it with askTender
In Montenegro, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on CEJN and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: the CEJN registration form, the written authorisation naming the ovlašćeno lice, any qualified e-signature the buyer requires, the guarantees and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the izjava privrednog subjekta and the bid forms, assembles the evidence for the check after evaluation and tracks the deadlines; askTender Partners, such as an advokat, an accountant or a court interpreter, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents go in with a bid in Montenegro?
The izjava privrednog subjekta, an electronic statement on the Ministry’s form that you meet every condition and have no exclusion grounds, with one from each joint-bid member and subcontractor; the subcontractors’ details; any joint-bid agreement; translations where needed; and, from EUR 40,000, a bid guarantee of 2% of the estimated value. Everything is filed on CEJN’s forms.
Do I need a qualified electronic signature to bid in Montenegro?
Only if the buyer requires one. CEJN works with a username and password; a buyer may set a level of e-identification, and where it asks for a qualified e-signature it must accept qualified signatures under the e-identification law. The signature belongs to your authorised person.
What happens after evaluation?
The commission checks the best bidder’s statement from public sources. Where it can’t, you have 8 days to upload originals or copies through CEJN, plus 5 more if something is unclear. Missing evidence means exclusion, unless the document isn’t issued in your country.
Which certificates may the best bidder have to provide?
Proof of registration in the Central Register of Business Entities (CRPS) with your authorised person’s details, criminal-record certificates for the company and the authorised person, the tax authority’s certificate of paid taxes and contributions, and the licence for the activity, such as a contractor licence for works. Financial statements for the two previous years with an auditor’s report, client confirmations for up to 5 years, staff and equipment evidence and quality certificates follow when the tender sets those criteria.
Who is the authorised person (ovlašćeno lice)?
Your executive director, or someone the director or the management body authorises in writing to act for your company in the procedure. Conflict-of-interest rules apply to that person. A lawyer can draft the authorisation; the executive director signs it.
Sources
- Law on Public Procurement, consolidated text with 2023 amendments (ujn.gov.me)
- Rulebook on the operation and use of the electronic public procurement system
- Point of Single Contact: technical documentation and construction works
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.